World Bank

T.J. Kirkpatrick/Bloomberg News

News about World Bank, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jun. 25, 2015

World Bank economists release research paper offering new evidence of widespread corruption in Tunisia during dictatorship of former Pres Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali; finds companies owned by family of Ben Ali defrauded state of $1 billion to $2.6 billion over seven years, scale of corruption that was a primary factor in 2011 uprising. MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

Human Rights Watch issues report that accuses World Bank of turning blind eye to arrests and harassment of critics of projects backed by organization in India, Cambodia, Uganda, Uzbekistan and elsewhere. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

World Health Organization and World Bank release report finding that at least 400 million people worldwide do not have access to essential health services. MORE

May. 23, 2015

World Bank report finds Gaza's economy is near collapse due to 2014 war with Israel, border restrictions and dysfunctional government; cites conflict between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Palestinian Authority Pres Mahmoud Abbas as reason for delay in reconstruction efforts, and notes unemployment rate stands at 44 percent, world's highest level. MORE

May. 17, 2015

Editorial warns that United States and Europe must reform World Bank and International Monetary Fund in response to China's creation of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank; suggests easy reform would be to get rid of requirement that European must head IMF and American must head World Bank. MORE

Apr. 18, 2015

World leaders who have arrived in Washington for spring meetings of International Monetary Fund and World Bank are expressing concern about what they see as United States ceding role of leader on global economic stage; many view retreat as result of political dysfunction and budgetary concerns, and experts warn that situation is leading to chaotic global shift in which China is ascending. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

Editorial criticizes Obama administration for its role in pushing China to create Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, potential rival to World Bank, by denying China significant role in World Bank; contends administration's actions have led to embarrassing and dangerous situation in which allies have flocked to invest in Chinese bank, making future regulation difficult. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Unnamed Frenchwoman working on a World Bank project is kidnapped along with her Yemeni translator in front of a ministry office in Sana, Yemen; French Pres Francois Hollande vows to do everything to secure her release; kidnapping underscores Houthi government's inability to secure the capital. MORE

Oct. 14, 2014

World Bank president Dr Jim Yong Kim, frustrated with slow global response to Ebola outbreak, has made fighting epidemic his mission, driving bank to act on Ebola with uncharacteristic speed; bank has committed $400 million to fighting disease. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

American officials are quietly lobbying against China's plan to form big, internationally funded bank; are engaged in vigorous campaign to persuade important allies, like Australia and South Korea, to shun the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; United States Treasury Dept has criticized the bank as a deliberate effort to undercut the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

Presidents of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, nations most affected by the Ebola outbreak, implore world leaders to increase their support to fight the disease; speak at meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington. MORE

Sep. 28, 2014

News analysis; United States is missing from World Bank declaration calling on all nations to enact laws forcing industries to pay for carbon emissions that scientists say are the leading cause of global warming; declaration, signed by 74 countries and more than 1,000 businesses, notes that governments can either directly tax carbon pollution or create market-based cap-and-trade systems, which force companies to buy government-issued pollution. MORE

Aug. 18, 2014

Editorial warns that federal trial in Brooklyn involving accusations that Arab Bank in Jordan handled transactions for known terrorists may discourage banks from arranging remittances for migrant workers in wealthy countries on grounds that legal risk is too high; says departure of banks from remittance business would threaten years of progress on lowering remittance fees; urges World Bank to avert situation by becoming remittance center. MORE

Jul. 16, 2014

Leaders of so-called BRICS group of nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa announce that they are establishing a development bank to challenge influence of World Bank and International Monetary Fund; New Development Bank, based in Shanghai, will open with initial capitalization of $50 billion, and India will name bank's first president. MORE

Jul. 10, 2014

Editorial laments news that big banks are leaving money transfer business, arguably most effective antipoverty effort in the world for migrants working in rich countries who regularly transfer money home; calls for other low-cost options for cash transfers, including possibility of making World Bank a remittance center. MORE

Jun. 11, 2014

World Bank, in new forecast, downgrades its estimate of world's economic expansion, with developing economies posting disappointing growth rates and frigid winter in United States and crisis in Ukraine weighing on growth too; institution now anticipates global growth of just 2.8 percent in 2014, picking up to 3.5 percent in 2016. MORE

Jun. 7, 2014

World Bank says China is likely to meet its economic growth target of 7.5 percent in 2014. MORE

May. 28, 2014

Employees at World Bank are calling first restructuring in nearly two decades a nightmare, saying process is killing productivity and morale; World Bank leader Jim Yong Kim says that his plan, which involves breaking down regional 'silos' and squeezing out inefficiencies, is necessary to keep institution relevant. MORE

Apr. 13, 2014

Concerns expressed at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual spring meetings are less about crisis and more about complacency; while euro zone has re-emerged from recession, emerging market jitters have quieted and American fiscal battles have abated, recovery remains fragile; in many cases, growth remains sluggish, leaving a jobs gap of 62 million. MORE

Apr. 2, 2014

World Bank says it is nearly doubling its potential lending to so-called middle-income countries like China, India and Brazil, adding about $100 billion in new financing capacity over the next decade. MORE

Feb. 28, 2014

World Bank reports that world loses or wastes 25 to 33 percent of the food it produces for consumption; such losses can mean difference between adequate diet and malnutrition in places where undernourishment is common, such as Africa and South Asia. MORE

Jan. 15, 2014

World Bank's economists expect global growth to increase from 2.4 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent in 2014, and to maintain that level for the next two years; warn, however, of possible turbulence. MORE

Jan. 11, 2014

World Bank ombudsman issues a stinging critique of the bank’s private-sector arm over a loan to a Honduran palm-oil company engaged in a violent conflict with farm workers over land tenure. MORE

Oct. 14, 2013

Fiscal woes of United States dominate meetings of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as world leaders forcefully warn of consequences should US fail to raise debt ceiling and reopen its government; confidence remains that impasse will be settled before default occurs, but foreign leaders say even a near-default will lead to higher borrowing costs and slowdown of global economy. MORE

Oct. 14, 2013

Fiscal deadlock in Washington dominates meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, but leaders also discuss such issues as a coming 'rebalancing' of economic growth, where rich economies speed up while growth in middle-income economies slows down. MORE

Oct. 8, 2013

World Bank lowers its growth forecast for large parts of eastern Asia; growth in the region that includes China, Thailand and the Philippines will be 7.1 percent in 2013 and 7.2 percent in 2014, according to the bank’s new projections, from 7.8 percent and 7.6 percent. MORE

Oct. 7, 2013

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim has sweeping plan to sort sprawling bank’s operations by the kinds of projects involved, like agriculture or energy, rather than by region; reorganization, first in nearly two decades, is meant to encourage collaboration. MORE

Sep. 16, 2013

World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, says China should hit its gross domestic product growth target of 7.5 percent this year; warns rising interest rates in emerging markets, in response to reports that the United States is preparing to scale back its buying of government bonds, show that significant risk remains. MORE

May. 5, 2013

Annie Lowrey It's the Economy column examines efforts by World Bank to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030; notes modest goal seems possible because organization is only aiming to raise everyone above $1.25-a-day income threshold, which would keep people from starving but not meet other vital needs. MORE

Apr. 22, 2013

Some European leaders gathering at annual spring meetings for World Bank and International Monetary Fund signal new willingness to slow pace of budget cuts and bolster growth on Continent; growth-oriented strategies promoted by both organizations have long been ignored in favor of austerity-only measures. MORE

Apr. 19, 2013

World Bank will honor three winners of its Sanitation Hackathon, competition to find technological solutions that address poor sanitation and hygiene in third world; winning projects address access to functional toilets and clean water, among other issues. MORE

Apr. 16, 2013

Europe is divided over road to recovery, with some officials clinging to pursuit of strict austerity and others calling for easing of monetary policy and some stimulus; tension will be on full display during spring meetings of International Monetary Fund and World Bank. MORE

Mar. 27, 2013

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, five emerging world economic powers, gather in Johannesburg for summit meeting at which they plan to announce creation of new development bank, in direct challenge to dominance of World Bank and International Monetary Fund. MORE

Jan. 28, 2013

World Bank announces long-awaited to deal to allow Myanmar to clear part of its decades-old foreign debt, totaling about $900 million, opening door for lending to jump-start its lagging economy. MORE

Jan. 16, 2013

World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report describes 'dramatic' easing of financial conditions around the world, but still warns that global growth will continue to be sluggish for years to come. MORE

Oct. 26, 2012

Treasury economist rummaging in department's library discovers transcript of 1944 Bretton Woods conference, event that cast foundations of modern international monetary system; transcript provides new insight into the World War II meeting, at which 44 allied nations created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. MORE

Jul. 3, 2012

New World Bank president Jim Yong Kim says the institution might help crisis-plagued high-income countries as a technical consultant, in addition to its core goal of eradicating global poverty. MORE

Jun. 13, 2012

World Bank warns that fears about the euro zone have reduced investor tolerance for risk, leading the bank to predict slumping growth in coming years and urge poorer economies to protect themselves by reducing their debts. MORE

Apr. 20, 2012

World Bank and the African Development Bank suspend millions of dollars of aid to Guinea-Bissau as a way to press leaders of a military coup there to return power to civilians. MORE

Apr. 20, 2012

Europe's problems will be at the forefront of discussions at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; some policy makers say the debt crisis is not only threatening the euro zone economy and the integrity of the common currency, but is also diminishing Europe's influence in world affairs. MORE

Apr. 17, 2012

World Bank names Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim its next president; widely expected appointment continues the longstanding tradition of an American leading the Washington-based development institution; board for first time considered candidates from outside the United States. MORE

Apr. 10, 2012

Dr Jim Yong Kim sketches his vision for the World Bank, including more receptivity to the views of the poorer countries that the institution finances; also responds to criticism related to his lack of experience in economics and foreign policy and his past critiques of the bank. MORE

Apr. 9, 2012

Op-Ed article by author Benn Steil describes how an espionage scandal at the time of the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank led to the convention of an American being chosen to lead the World Bank and a European being chosen to lead the IMF. MORE

Mar. 31, 2012

Editorial concludes that Pres Obama’s nomination of Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank is an inspired choice, but notes that other candidates with more international economic experience should be considered. MORE

Mar. 30, 2012

United States announces that it will provide Tunisia with a $100 million cash infusion to pay its debts to the World Bank and other international banks. MORE

Mar. 30, 2012

World Bank, for the first time, is considering more than one candidate for its five-year presidency; two candidates from developing nations, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Jose Antonio Ocampo, are challenging American nominee Jim Yong Kim, a move that reflects the fast-growing clout of emerging economies. MORE

Mar. 24, 2012

White House names Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College and a global health expert, as its nominee to lead the World Bank; Kim is an anthropologist and a physician and was a former director of the department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization. MORE

Mar. 14, 2012

Robert B Zoellick will step down as president of the World Bank, prompting debate about whether an American should be picked to replace him; White House has said it will pick an American for its nominee, a stance that has discouraged increasingly powerful emerging countries from proposing strong alternative; research and development groups are pushing for a fairer and more transparent selection process. MORE

Mar. 7, 2012

Report by the World Bank shows a broad reduction in extreme poverty worldwide from 2005 to 2008, and indicates that the global recession, contrary to economists’ expectations, did not increase poverty in the developing world; world has met the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to cut extreme poverty in half five years before its 2015 deadline. MORE

Feb. 28, 2012

Study by the World Bank and a Chinese government research organization warns that the country’s economic growth is likely to diminish over the next few decades unless China alters its development model and rethinks the role of government in managing the economy; calls on nation to transition to a market economy, encourage private enterprise and confront inequality and environmental degradation. MORE

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